Barcelona’s La Liga campaign has stumbled out of the gate, with their much-anticipated attacking prowess failing to materialize. With star scorer Robert Lewandowski’s age approaching 35, the future of the club remains shaky. Achieving success in the long run makes the search for a trustworthy backup and ultimate replacement all the more urgent.
Amidst swirling rumors about Robert Lewandowski’s potential departure from Barcelona, his agent has provided reassurances regarding his future with the club. Meanwhile, Barcelona made a bold move by securing the promising young talent Vitor Roque, suggesting a possible reshuffle within the team’s attacking ranks.
Barcelona confirms Vitor Roque deal
Barcelona has recently confirmed the signing of Vitor Roque from Athletico-PR for a fee of around $44 million. This contract is expected to last until the end of the 2030–31 season.
Robert Lewandowski is Barcelona’s only striker at the moment. He is quite efficient, but he turns 35 in August, hence the need for an equally potent backup and successor. Negotiations for Vitor Roque have been led by Barcelona’s sporting director, and recently, it gained momentum quickly as Vitor wanted to join the club.
🔵🔴 Vitor Roque will travel to Spain in the next 24 hours to join Barcelona, plan confirmed.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 25, 2023
Tigrinho plans to arrive on Wednesday.
He’s coming with his family in order to start training under Xavi in the following days 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/O7ozTqcNHt
Roque drew Barcelona’s attention with standout performances for Athletico and Brazil’s youth teams. His contributions helped his club reach the final of the Copa Libertadores last season, and he recently earned his first senior cap for the Brazilian national team.
He has registered 22 goals in 65 appearances for Athletico, and he currently maintains an incredible streak of scoring 6 goals in 6 consecutive matches.
Laporta, in awe of the Barcelona target, spoke so fondly of him, saying:
“He very much has his own style. You can’t really compare him with [retired Brazil strikers] Ronaldo or Romario. He is someone that is deadly with both feet inside the box.
“He is different to what we have had here before. If you had to compare him to anyone, it would be Ronaldo, who was a force of nature with us. [Roque] has bags of potential, is young, powerful and Brazilian.”
When will Vitor Roque make his debut for Barcelona?
Barcelona has expressed great enthusiasm for Vitor Roque, portraying their excitement with a Christmas-themed social media post. The La Liga giants shared a video featuring the teenager kissing the club’s crest while donning the home kit, and he is expected to arrive in Catalonia on Wednesday.
Many within the Barcelona community are hopeful that Roque, nicknamed “Tigrinho” (the “little tiger”), could provide a solution to the team’s recent challenges in attack, a concern highlighted by coach Xavi Hernández.
Xavi has been found complaining recently about his team’s below-par performances. He thinks their output, especially in attack, is somewhat unacceptable, believing that Vitor Rogue will do well to turn things around despite the fact that he is only 18 years old, turning 19 in February 2024.
